“A Just Way, Not the Highway”: Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition Calls For Community-Led Solutions

By Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition Photos: YouTube Screenshots\Wikimedia Commons Brooklyn, NY – April 10th, 2024: In a resounding call for urgent action, the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Environmental Justice Coalition held a press conference today demanding comprehensive measures to address the hazardous environmental and health crises stemming from the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (BQE). Gathered at the Triangle at the Intersection of 3rd Avenue and 16th Street in Brooklyn, the coalition, comprising residents, environmental justice advocates, organizations, allies, and elected officials, articulated a series of demands aimed at rectifying the dire impacts of the BQE on affected communities across Brooklyn and Queens. The coalition specifically called for a comprehensive corridor-wide transformation of the BQE and for the immediate suspension of plans to rebuild  the cantilever section of the BQE for another century of motor vehicles.. They emphasized the need for decisive action to correct environmental injustices, including addressing air pollution, traffic violence, and climate change affecting communities corridor-wide. Furthermore, the coalition urged the approval and implementation of shovel-ready community-led plans such as the BQEGreen in Williamsburg and Sunset Park Greenway-Blueway, offering tangible solutions for a more sustainable and equitable BQE. Advocating for the dissolution of segmented planning in favor of a unified approach...